Pork Entrees for the Holidays

Cranberry-Mustard Pork TenderloinAn outstanding recipe that Lea adapted for the slow cooker to present big flavors. She hadn’t had a slow cooker for years, but bought one just before starting work on publishing our favorite recipes and trying out some new ones. This was her first slow cooker recipe, and she added an extra tablespoon of mustard to the original recipe to bring up the flavor. It was delicious! The recipe is located here.

Seared Pork Tenderloin with Worcestershire SauceA good cut of pork tenderloin is both tender and flavorful, so it won’t need a lot of seasoning. We coat lightly with Worcestershire sauce, and add the salt and pepper as we turn the medallions, so the salt doesn’t draw out much moisture. Try a little garlic paste or a very light coating of a flavored olive oil, if desired. The recipe is located here.

Spinach and Sausage Pork RouladeThis delightful dish tastes as good as it looks! It combines slivered almonds, onion soup mix, and Italian sausage to create a filling for a pork roast. Cooking is simply putting the roulade on a hot pan and carefully turning every few minutes to get it brown all the way around, and then baking it until ready to serve. It is a fun dish to prepare, and is always greeted enthusiastically. Lea usually serves this with Fennel-Potato Au Gratin. The roulade recipe is located here.

Holiday Spinach and Sausage Pork RouladeLarry also made a “large group” version of the roulade above, specifically for a Christmas meal we were serving at our church. It has special holiday-time seasoning, including carrots, onions and celery in the bottom of the pan, which helps give it a very special flavor. This recipe is for 48 servings, but can be easily scaled to fit the size of your gathering. Here’s the recipe.

Bacon Wrapped Pork Loin RouladeThick cut boneless pork loin chops get pounded out to 3/8″ thin and filled with cooked stuffing (left over is great), or flavored bread crumbs, and then wrapped in thick sliced bacon for a mouth watering, and pretty dish. Capture the bacon drippings and pan scrapings to make a wonderful sauce, served on the side for dipping, or as gravy. The recipe is located here.

All of these dishes create some pretty great drippings. If you like, while the pork is resting, make a quick pan sauce. Start by boiling a cup of red wine in the pan while you scrape up the pork fond from the bottom. Add enough pork or chicken broth to serve your group, and thicken with a flour, cornstarch, or arrowroot slurry. Have some fun in the kitchen this holiday season while preparing some great meals that can become family favorites.